1960s Patti Playpal Clones

Name: Redressed 1960s Boy and Girl Patti Playpal Clones

Material: Soft vinyl head, rigid plastic body with a metal walking mechanism within.

Marks: The boy is marked 0 on the head; the girl is marked 36-2 on the head.

Height: 35 inches

Hair, Eyes, Mouths: Both dolls have short black-rooted hair; the boy’s hair is straight; the girl’s hair is curly. They have brown sleep eyes with applied upper eyelashes and painted lower eyelashes. The closed, slightly smiling mouths are painted red.

Other: The maker of these two Patti Playpal clones is unknown. As indicated, both dolls are redressed. They are included in the museum to document the head sculpt and markings. The head sculpt is similar to the sculpt used by Ideal for the original 1959 Patti Playpal, which was never used by Ideal for a black doll. Other companies, such as Allied Eastern, Horsman, and Uneeda offered 1960s versions of Patti Playpal dolls that use a different head sculpt than the sculpt used for the dolls in this installation. In 2006, Ashton-Drake sold a reproduction black Patti Playpal that uses Ideal’s original 1959 Patti Playpal head sculpt.

Scaled to the size of a 3- or 4-year-old child, these dolls are designed to “walk with you” with guidance.

 

Gallery

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